Roasted Broccoli, Kale, and Chickpeas with Ricotta

Kale has been one of those iffy veggies for me. I have mentioned that I was really nervous to try kale, since the very first time that I was ever exposed to it was preparing food for animals at the Bronx Zoo. Meat eaters would surly turn their noses away from the ground beef and horse mixture that we fed to the lions, and I felt the same way about the food I was used to feeding to gorillas and gazelles. To me, kale was animal food, not human food.

Kale has been getting pretty popular recently, and I finally took the plunge and tried it. I didn't fall head over heals for it, but I did love adding another dark leafy green into my diet. When you cut out meat from your diet, adding a variety of veggies is the spice of life.

I have been eager to find kale recipes. It took a lot of effort for me not to swap kale for spinach (my favorite dark leafy green), but I found a winning recipe that is my new favorite way to eat kale!


Recipe from Sunday Suppers

What you need:



1 Bunch of kale, stemmed and chopped
2-3 Heads of broccoli, cut into small florets
2 Cans of chickpeas
3-4 Tablespoons of lemon juice
4 Tablespoons of EVOO
2-3 Cloves of garlic, chopped
15 oz Container of ricotta cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes to taste

What to do:
Preheat the broiler.
Toss the kale, broccoli, chickpeas, and garlic in the olive oil.
Lay out the veggies on a greased and lined baking sheet.
Sprinkle the salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes on top.
Broil for 5 minutes, tossing halfway through, until the kale is crispy, broccoli is tender, and the veggies are just getting a char, but are still bright green.
Drizzle the lemon juice on top.
Serve with a dollop of ricotta cheese.













This was so garlicky and so delicious. I loved the flavor and crisp of the chard kale. The chickpeas had almost a meaty flavor, which went well with the veggie flavor of the broccoli, plus they added an element of protein. The lemon juice was a nice addition of tartness. There was just the right amount of heat from the red pepper to give it a little kick. And the contrast of hot veggies with the cold ricotta took this to the next level. The mild and soft cheese was almost like a cream sauce, it was the perfect way to top this dish.

What is your favorite way to make kale? Will this roasted kale dish be on your menu next?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Spicy Lentils with Veggies

I have mentioned around here a few times that I have been trying to make better food choices. Cheese is probably my weakness, along with other dairy foods. I have been doing lots of thinking about my egg and dairy intake. While I would love to be able to be a vegan, I am just too weak. I tried vegan Mondays, but that failed too. I started making conscious choices to cut down all animal products; no eggs in my fried rice, no cheese on my veggie burger.

Eventually, these choices weren't conscious anymore. I found that so many times I would be halfway through a meal that I cooked, and realize that it is completely vegan! Now that I am supporting myself, I am cooking more and ordering take out less, which made it a lot easier to cut out dairy. I used to rely on bagels and pizza when I was living in New York. I guess one TINY good thing about being away from home is that I am away from the most tempting of dairy products.

I have seen lots of "one-pot" meals, but it was only as I was cooking this that I even realized this meal was vegan! I love that making the right food choices has become so instinctual.



Inspired by Eat Live Run.

What you need:



2 cups of lentils
2 bunches of kale
2 sweet potatoes
2 cups of chopped carrots
2 serrano peppers
4 cups of vegetable broth
3-4 cloves of garlic
salt/celery salt to taste
oil for cooking

What to do:
Chop up the kale, serrano peppers, garlic, and peal and chop the sweet potatoes.
Heat the oil in a large pot and add the carrots and sweet potatoes. Cook until softened.
Next, add in the garlic and kale, until the kale starts to wilt.
Add in the peppers, lentils, salt, celery salt, and vegetable broth.



Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer, until the lentils are soft and the water has been absorbed.
Serve hot.











These lentils were chewy and hardy. I was nervous that the pepper would be too spicy, but it added the perfect amount of heat. The sweet potatoes and carrots were nice and soft, and added an element of sweetness. The kale was mild, and the veggie broth and celery salt added lots of different flavors. This ended up tasting just like how I would have described my grandma's cooking: comforting and healthy!

How easy is it for you to eat vegan? Will you try this one pot lentil meal?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

My First Time...With Kale

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEEEEE! Today is my 24th birthday...and I am at work right now.  Buts that's OK because I had an awesome Halloween, and I have plenty more awesomeness ahead of me today!

Today I am going to share with you a story about my first time dealing with something that I thought was pretty scary...kale. Oh kale. You are all over the Pinterest universe. Everyone says you are so amazing and can be used in all kinds of dishes, but I was always skeptical. See, the very first encounter I ever had with the green, leafy, veggie, was in the Bronx Zoo. When I used to work in the zoo, kale was on the diet of lots of animals, and to me kale was an "animal food." Monkeys eat monkey chow, lions eat raw meat, and giraffes eat kale.



Recently, a friend from work told me that she was experimenting with kale, and it was pretty good. I told her my fears of eating kale. She replied by surprising me of a baggie of my own kale. It was time to face my fears, and see what all the hype was.



The first thing I realized was...I had NO idea what to do with it! After scouring the internet, lots of people recommended sauteing it with some oil and garlic, like you would saute spinach. I decided to give it a go.



It was pretty simple to cook up. I just threw in the kale, some olive oil, a few gloves of garlic, salt and pepper. I sauteed it until the kale wilted.





Now that I had all this beautifully cooked kale, what do I eat with it??  I cooked up some pearled couscous and mixed it all together.







The kale was a little bitter and kind of chewy. It actually reminded me a bit of broccoli rabe. I would describe it as healthy tasting. I was really glad I decided to saute it, it make the kale really nice and garlic-y.

On the other hand, the pearled couscous, which I also have never tried before, was so good! The only way I can describe it is that it tasted like bubbles in my mouth. It was moist, and a bit creamy. The spices were really flavor, it had the perfect amount of garlic.

In the end I don't know if I would get kale again. It was OK, but didn't knock my socks off. At least my meal was vegan, which makes it a winner in my book!

Have you ever had kale? What is your favorite way to eat it?

Bye from the Veggie Side!